PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Karl Malone became the third player in NBA
history to record 31,000 points, scoring 32 to go with 15
rebounds as the Utah Jazz wrapped up the Midwest Division with a
96-82 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Malone reached the milestone by hitting a free throw with 4 1/2
minutes remaining in the third quarter, joining Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to score
31,000.

"I'm not done yet," Malone said. "I think when I look back on
it when I'm done, it will be more exciting. Right now, I'm
still just trying to play the game."

The free throw came during a 14-0 run that blew open the game
for the Jazz. Utah led 52-48 with 6:05 remaining in the third
before Malone pitched in five points and Olden Polynice four
during the four-minute run for a 66-48 advantage.

"We just turned the ball over too much," Phoenix guard Penny
Hardaway said of the run. "I made some bad decisions on about
three or four plays that hurt us and they capitalized on those."

Hardaway, who committed eight of the Suns' 18 turnovers, took
full blame for Utah's run.

"I'll take the blame for this because it was my leadership -- my
poor leadership -- that got them off and running and turning it
over at the wrong time," he said.

Malone also had four assists, leaving him one shy of 4,000.

The Suns got within 10 points early in the fourth quarter on
Todd Day's 3-pointer, but could not get closer as they had a
six-game winning streak stopped.

Utah completed its first-ever season series sweep against the
Suns. The teams began playing one another in 1974 when the Jazz
were based in New Orleans.

"Clearly we got beat by a much better basektball team," Suns
coach Scott Skiles said. "We'd like to think we are at that
caliber, but they swept us this year and the last three times,
they've handled us pretty easlily. Hopefully, this will be some
sort of wakeup call that we need to improve and we need to do it
quickly."

Malone's 15 rebounds were a season-high, eclipsing his 14
against Portland on April 10. Utah held a 49-31 advantage on
the boards, including 18-7 on the offensive glass. The Jazz
outscored the Suns, 19-8, in second-chance points.

Phoenix's lead on San Antonio for fourth place in the Western
Conference shrunk to one game. Both teams have two games
remaining, with the Spurs hosting lowly Vancouver tomorrow.

"It really doesn't mean anything to us," Hardaway said of the
race. "We have two games we could win and still have homecourt
advantage. It would be sad if we lost it tonight, but we're
still on top. We have two games we know we could win."

"It was tied at the half, but we haven't played with the energy
like we played in January and February," Skiles said. "You
would have to be a part of our staff and part of the inner
workings of the team to understand the amount of breakdowns and
things that are going on right now. We're not playing with the
same attention to detail and just overall energy that is
necessary to compete and win."

Utah, which has won the division in three of the last four
years, will hold the second seed when the playoffs start and
will face either Sacramento or Seattle. The other will take on
the NBA-leading Los Angeles Lakers.

"This title means more to me than all of the rest because we
weren't expected to do it," Malone said. "We've been doubted
all year long and we'll be doubted again. We went out here and
did something that no one gave us an opportunity to do once the
season started. I think what they forgot about is the
dedication the guys put in to get ready to play this game."

Before the game, the Suns honored Utah guard Jeff Hornacek, who
was playing in his final regular-season game in Phoenix.
Hornacek, retiring at the end of the season, was given a set a
golf clubs from the team that he played for from 1986-1992.

"It's amazing that I played here six years ago," Hornacek said.
"I've been away for eight years and every time I came back, I
got good support in this place. Everytime I come back, it seems
like I just left. They're counting down for me, but we're just
looking forward to the playoffs. I'm not the kind of person to
be concerned that I have only two games left and then the
playoffs. I'm just enjoying the last bit of playing I'm doing."